Recursio
Lesson 9. I have, I go
10 words in this lesson
Tap 🔊 and repeat out loud. These words come back in the dialogue and the exercises below.
tener, ir, hacer
Three irregular verbs
You’ll hear these verbs all the time, and their forms don’t follow the rules from lessons 7 and 8. Learn them by heart.
| Who | tener — to have | ir — to go | hacer — to do, to make |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | tengo | voy | hago |
| tú | tienes | vas | haces |
| él / ella / usted | tiene | va | hace |
| nosotros / nosotras | tenemos | vamos | hacemos |
| vosotros / vosotras | tenéis | vais | hacéis |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | tienen | van | hacen |
How to remember them:
- hacer is irregular only in the “I” form: hago. The rest is like comer. Haco is what you get by applying the rule.
- tener also ends in -go for “I”: tengo. In tienes, tiene, tienen the e becomes ie; in “we” and “you all” it doesn’t: tenemos, tenéis.
- ir looks nothing like its infinitive: voy, vas, va… After the v-, the endings are close to the -ar pattern.
Tener
Tengo una hermana — “I have a sister.” Ella tiene un perro — “She has a dog.”
When you ask whether someone has something as a general possession, Spanish often leaves out the article: ¿Tienes coche? — Sí, tengo coche. Use an article when a particular or counted item matters; Tengo un coche is also correct. For now, learn the question and answer with coche as a pattern.
Spanish also uses tener for age, but that needs numbers: lesson 22.
Voy a clase
Where to: a + place: Voy a clase. Voy a Valencia. Treat it as a set phrase for now; prepositions come in lesson 18.
As in lesson 7, the simple present covers “I’m going” too: Mañana voy a clase — “I’m going to class tomorrow.”
¿Qué haces?
¿Qué haces? — “What are you doing?” or “What do you do?” The answer usually uses another verb: ¿Qué haces el fin de semana? — Voy a Valencia.
El fin de semana and mañana need no preposition: el fin de semana — “at the weekend,” mañana — “tomorrow.” Careful: la mañana with an article means “morning.” That comes later.
el coche is the word used in Spain. In most of Latin America a car is el carro or el auto.
Tengo una hermana y un hermano. — I have a sister and a brother.
¿Tienes coche? — Do you have a car?
Mañana vamos a clase. — Tomorrow we're going to class.
¿Qué hacéis el fin de semana? — What are you all doing at the weekend? (informal)
Hago un bocadillo. — I'm making a sandwich.
Dialogue
Listen to each line and repeat it. Try to understand it before you look at the translation.
Nora Javier, ¿qué haces el fin de semana? Javier, what are you doing at the weekend?
Javier Voy a Valencia. Tengo una hermana allí. I'm going to Valencia. I have a sister there.
Nora ¿Y el trabajo? And work?
Javier Mañana trabajo. El fin de semana, ¡Valencia! ¿Y tú? I'm working tomorrow. At the weekend, Valencia! And you?
Nora Mañana voy a clase. Estudio español. Tomorrow I'm going to class. I'm studying Spanish.
Javier ¡Lucía es profesora! ¡Tenemos profesora! Lucía is a teacher! We've got a teacher!
Nora ¡Es verdad! ¿Tienes coche? That's true! Do you have a car?
Javier Sí, tengo coche. Yes, I have a car.
Check yourself
Listen. What did you hear?
1. How do you say “I have a brother”?
2. How do you ask a friend “Are you going to Valencia?”
3. How do you say “I'm making a sandwich”?
4. How do you say “She has a dog”?
Match each word with its translation
Build the sentence: “I have a sister”
Build the question: “What are you doing at the weekend?”
What you can do now
- Say what you have: Tengo una hermana. Tengo coche.
- Say where you're going: Mañana voy a clase. Voy a Valencia.
- Ask about plans: ¿Qué haces el fin de semana?
- Recognize the irregular forms tengo, voy, hago
Key phrases of the lesson:
Tengo una hermana.
Mañana voy a clase.
¿Qué haces el fin de semana?
Day 9 of 100. Next up: the following lesson.
Lesson 10. Module 2 review and test →The course is the first step. Next comes the Recursio app: short daily practice with spaced review.